Class Action SETTLEMENT

Welcome

This website provides information about a proposed settlement concerning all individuals who signed a FedEx Ground Pickup and Delivery Contractor Operating Agreement to provide service in California sometime during the period between November 17, 2000 and October 15, 2007, and those who may have personally worked as a full-time driver under that contract between November 17, 2000 and the present.

WHAT THE CASE IS ABOUT

The people who brought the suit, the 'Plaintiffs', are seventeen drivers who operated FedEx Ground or FedEx Home Delivery routes. The Plaintiffs sued FedEx Ground Package System, Inc. (the 'Defendant'). The Plaintiffs brought the lawsuit on behalf of themselves and a class of other pcikup and delivery drivers who, like them, signed contracts with FedEx Ground to operate FedEx Ground or Home Delivery routes in the State of California.

This lawsuit is about whether FedEx Ground misclassified pickup and delivery drivers as independent contractors rather than as employees, and failed to provide them with legal rights that employees have under California law. In the operative Complaint, Plaintiffs seek to recover Class-wide damages for, among other things, unreimbursed employment expenses, illegal wage deductions, and failure to provide meal and rest periods, as well as unpaid overtime pay for individuals driving trucks weighing less than 10,001 pounds, interest, civil penalties, attorneys' fees and costs. FedEx Ground maintains that the independent contractor classification is appropriate and denies that it has broken any laws.

STATUS OF THE SETTLEMENT

May 2017 Update on the Status of the Class Settlement and the Appeals:

Please note: Because of the status described below, it is unlikely that there will be to be any significant developments until the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals schedules a hearing. While we do not know the Court’s schedule, our best estimate is that the hearing will take place in 2018.There were two (2) appeals filed by FedEx Drivers who did not agree with the U.S. District Court’s June 2016 decision to grant final approval of the settlement. The payments that would have been sent out in mid-August 2016 have not been distributed because of these appeals, which were filed with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals by FedEx Drivers Henrik Zohrabians and Rafick El-Hani. Mr. El-Hani has dismissed his appeal, but the appeal filed by Mr. Zohrabians is continuing.
The settlement cannot become final until after the resolution of the remaining appeal, either by decision or dismissal. All of the written briefs have been filed by both sides, with the last brief filed by Zohrabians on March 23, 2017. The next step is for the Ninth Circuit Court to schedule the case for a hearing before a panel of three (3) judges, and these judges will decide whether to affirm the settlement. Alternatively, Mr. Zohrabians could decide to dismiss his appeal and the settlement would be final, but there is no way to predict if (or when) that might happen.
At this time, we cannot know when the appeal will be over. Appeals to the Ninth Circuit are typically set for hearing approximately one (1) year after the briefing is concluded, with a decision between three and six months later. If this case follows that schedule, the hearing will be in early to mid-2018, with a decision later in 2018. But it could be sooner or later depending on the Court’s schedule.
If Mr. Zohrabians’ loses the appeal, the settlement will become final and the Settlement Administrator will issue the settlement payments to the class. Mr. Zohrabians would also have other options to continue - he could request that his case be heard in front of a larger panel of 11 judges in the Ninth Circuit. He could also ask for US Supreme Court review. If he makes either request, it will take more time to finalize the appeal.
If Mr. Zohrabians’ wins his appeal, the settlement will not become final, no settlement payments will be made, and the lawsuit will likely be sent back to the trial court in San Francisco for additional proceedings.Please make sure to update both Rust Consulting and our offices at Leonard Carder if you change your address or any of your contact information. It is important that we have your up-to-date contact information at all times so that we can keep you updated and so that Rust Consulting can mail your settlement check if the settlement becomes final. Please call (800) 711-1958 and (510) 272-0169 with any contact information updates.

Important deadlines

July 18, 2016

Last day for appeal of the Court’s Final Approval Order

May 27, 2016

Last day to file a Claimant Identification Form to participate in the Settlement